


A Proper Start

by afteriwake



Series: Love Is Like [17]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Bragging Molly, Established Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, F/M, Flirty Molly, Fluff, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, Office Party, POV Molly Hooper, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Kissing, Sherlock is a Good Boyfriend, Sherlock is a Sex God, Stressed Molly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 15:45:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5632081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite having decided on not going to the party a call from Stamford convinces Sherlock and Molly to make an appearance anyway, and as midnight nears Molly worries that they’ll be spending it with people <i>other</i> than each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Proper Start

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MagsyB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagsyB/gifts).



> And so this is kind of the other half of "A Spectacular End," as it takes place on the same night. This answers a prompt from **otpprompts** on Tumblr that goes " _Imagine your OTP at a New Year’s Eve party. Before the countdown starts, Person A goes to get drinks. While doing this, Person A runs into someone (an ex or a friend) and they catch up. Person A ends the conversation because they need to get back to Person B. As the countdown starts, A still cannot find B, and they start to panic until they see Person B seconds before the New Year. They get to Person B just in time to give them a New Year’s kiss._ "

They made it to her washroom, and then to her bed, having said fuck all to going to the party. She knew she _should_ go; as head of her department it looked good if she went to functions like these, but most everyone knew she’d had to deal with being understaffed and then rotating in a new staff member, and then there had been her giving up part of her Christmas morning to come in and help, so not coming in to the New Years Eve party would be understood, she was sure. And besides, she deserved a break, especially if her break involved spending ringing in her new year in bed with her very handsome and very skilled in the intimate arts boyfriend.

Sherlock had just gotten done showing her some of the very pleasurable things he could do with his fingers and his tongue when her mobile began to ring. She could have sworn she’d turned it off but apparently she hadn’t. He’d moved up beside her, his arms around her and his lips near her neck. “Ignore it,” he said, pressing a kiss against her skin.

“I was planning on it,” she said, tilting her head slightly to give him better access to her neck. She knew she would much rather stay here in her flat with him than go to the party, and when the phone stopped ringing she relaxed. But then it began to ring again and she frowned. 

Sherlock pulled away from her and sighed. “I suppose you should answer it.”

“I suppose,” she said, rolling over onto her stomach to reach her nightstand. She got her mobile and saw it was Stamford calling. She answered it. “Mike? What is it?”

“Are you coming to the party?” he asked, and she could hear the faint sounds of music in the background.

“I hadn’t planned on it,” she said. “I was going to have an evening in with my boyfriend and just relax. It’s been a rather hectic week.”

“Well, the head of the hospital board is looking for you. Both of you, actually. Seems keen to talk about the rising star of the pathology department and the consulting detective he’s heard so much about. I said I’d heard you might not be attending and he seemed rather disappointed.”

She bit her lip. “I suppose we can make an appearance. Is he going to be there the whole night?”

“At least until midnight,” Stamford said.

“Then we’ll come by in a bit. Neither of us are in a state to make an appearance.”

Stamford chuckled at that. “I’m not sure I want further explanation on that. I’ll let him know you’ll be coming after all. See you soon, Molly.”

“See you soon, Mike,” she said before hanging up. Then she sighed and turned to Sherlock. “I suppose our evening plans have been derailed.”

“We’ll need to make an appearance after all?” he asked, sitting up as the sheet dropped to his waist.

She nodded. “The head of the hospital board seems keen to talk to both of us. If I go, perhaps I can talk him into making sure I get the allotment for upgrading the equipment in the path lab and getting the refrigeration unit worked on before it up and dies.”

Sherlock nodded. “If it will help makes things run more smoothly for you in the morgue, I’m all for putting our plans on hold.” He leaned in more. “So long as I get my kiss at midnight.”

“I don’t want to kiss anyone else then,” she said with a smile, leaning in more and kissing him softly. “I suppose I need to freshen up again, though. And _not_ with you joining me this time. Too much of a distraction.” She removed the last of her covers from her body and got out of bed, knowing his eyes were on her as she made her way to the door and got her dressing gown, slipping it on. She turned and gave him a cheeky grin before heading to her washroom. In the midst of their pleasurable activities he’d washed her hair three times so she knew it no longer smelled, and he’d been patient while she had blow dried it so that she didn’t have to worry about it gnarling up later. She piled it up on top of her head and put a shower cap on and then washed herself quickly before getting out of the shower to head back to her bedroom.

Sherlock had already begun to get dressed, having put on the trousers for his suit and his shirt, though it was not buttoned. She had gone out and bought a new dress and heels, splurging on it a bit. She hadn’t minded not going to the party tonight and not getting to show it off; she’d reasoned they could find another occasion for her to wear it later. She pulled it out of the closet and laid it on the bed. It was a sleeveless red V-neck chiffon cocktail dress that had ruching at the bust, and she had a pair of red heels that were almost the same shade to pair with it. She was going to pair it with a diamond pendant and earring set her father had given her for her sixteenth birthday that was understated but still pretty.

Sherlock glanced over at the dress. “Do I need to worry about other men trying to get your attentions at midnight?” he asked, giving her a look, though it was more amused than actually worried.

“They can _try_ but they will not succeed. I don’t care how drunk they are,” she said, unzipping the dress before stepping into it. She pulled it up and set the straps on her shoulder before zipping it up as far as she could. “Help me?”

He nodded and she turned round. He moved her hair out of the way, zipping the dress the rest of the way up before pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck. She smiled at that. “Are you wearing your hair up or down?”

“Up,” she said.

“You may want to cover the marks on your neck, then,” he said.

She shook her head, a small grin on her face. “We’re going to have to talk about exactly where and when you can leave love bites in the future,” she said. “Where are they, generally?”

“None on the back of your neck,” he said. “You should be able to spot them all with a hand mirror.” He lifted her hair up, though, and then circled spots on her skin with his finger. “These are the most noticeable ones, though.”

“If I didn’t enjoy it so much I’d tell you to stop,” she said as he let her hair fall back down. She turned and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll go take care of my hair and make-up. It shouldn’t be more than a half hour or so?”

He nodded. “I’ll be ready by then,” he said.

She made her way to her washroom to finish getting ready. She pulled her hair back into a sleek knot at the nape of her neck, and then did her make-up, covering up the marks on her neck before concentrating on her face. When she was done she went back to her bedroom to put her jewelry on and spritz perfume on her pulse points, getting her wrap and clutch before going to Sherlock in her sitting room. “I’m ready,” she said.

Sherlock nodded taking in the full view of her. “You look exquisite,” he said with a grin before getting his coat and putting it on.

She blushed slightly. “Thank you,” she said. He offered her his arm and she took it, and the two of them left her flat. He locked up behind them, and then they went to hail a cab. They got one surprisingly quickly and had it take them to Brixton East, where the party was being held. It didn’t take very long to get there, and they got out and made their way inside. Molly looked around and then spotted Stamford. “Let’s get this over with,” she said to Sherlock.

He nodded and then moved over to Stamford with Molly. The two of them got to him and he turned and gave them a smile. “Molly! Sherlock!” he said. “You look fantastic.”

“Thank you,” she said with a smile, grinning at him. “Is the head of the hospital board still here?” 

He nodded, gesturing towards a man in a black suit standing near the bar. “He’ll be quite pleased to see the both of you.” He lead the two of them over and introduced them to the man. It was actually a rather pleasant conversation, Molly thought, though after a while it became quite apparent he was a fan of Sherlock, and in particular John’s blog. Molly made her excuses to go get something to eat as well as a glass of champagne, hoping they would still be there when she was done. It had been ten thirty when they had arrived and they had spent their entire time at the party speaking with the head of the hospital board. Now it was eleven forty-nine and she had the feeling she was going to spend the whole evening listening to Sherlock go over old cases, which was not _really_ how she had envisioned spending her New Year’s Eve, but she supposed if it helped her get her funding she would endure.

She got a plate and a glass of champagne. Everyone was trying to get champagne, and she was on her way back when she bumped into Meena. Her friend gave her a sympathetic smile. “I saw you got cornered,” she said.

“Well, it turns out he’s a fan of Sherlock’s,” she said, taking a sip of her champagne. “They were talking about the case with the Chinese assassins when I left.”

“You’re quite lucky,” Meena said, eyeing Sherlock appreciatively. “So tell me. Have you and he…?”

Molly grinned and nodded. “Oh yes,” she said.

“Is he as good as everyone has speculated he is?” she said, leaning in and lowering her voice.

“Let’s just say that my plans for the evening involved ringing in the new year by being shagged into the mattress more times than I could count,” she said lifting up her glass of champagne again. “And there’s the fact he’s studied tantric sex.”

Meena’s eyes went wide and then she got a wide grin on her face. “Molly, I hate you so much right now.”

“Mmm, most women probably would if they knew,” she said, taking a sip of her champagne. “Unfortunately, at this rate I doubt I’ll even get a midnight kiss. I think his attention will be completely taken up with this conversation.”

“But if it gets you your funding it will be worth it, yeah?” Meena said.

Molly nodded. “Yeah.” She shifted her hold on the plate and then picked up a canapé and took a bite. “I would have liked one, though.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you from trying to get one,” Meena said. “Go claim your kiss from your very own sex god.”

Molly chuckled, then leaned over and gave Meena an awkward hug that Meena returned. “Happy New Year, in case I don’t see you again tonight.”

“Happy New Year, love,” Meena said with a grin as she pulled away.

Molly grinned back and then turned and headed back towards where Sherlock had been, only to see he wasn’t there anymore. She frowned at that. Where could he be? She tried to make her way through the crowds, but it was hard with her hands full, so she set down her food and champagne. She could always get more of both later, once she had found Sherlock. Suddenly she heard the music stop and the DJ start to talk. They were about to start the countdown! She had to find him.

“Ten!”

She scanned the area again, panicking slightly. No, no, no. She had already had her plans thwarted once. She did not want to have midnight come and no kiss with Sherlock. She started to move someplace where she could find a higher vantage point.

“Nine!”

It seemed as though everyone was looking for their partner. There were other people frantically searching, other people wanting to find their partner for their midnight kisses. She just had to keep her hopes up that she could find Sherlock in time for hers.

“Eight!”

She made it to a set of stairs and then stepped up. She stood up and saw Sherlock a short distance away. He appeared to be looking in her direction and she waved slightly to get her attention. He saw her and they began to move towards each other, like magnets towards a lodestone.

“Seven!”

She was having a hard time pushing through the crowd. They were so close but there was the chance they weren’t going to make it. She had to hope that they would make it to each other, that they would get their midnight kiss.

“Six!”

Someone roughly shoved her to get to someone else and she stumbled slightly, reaching over to put her hand on a table to steady herself. She couldn’t see Sherlock over all the people. Was he still heading towards her? She wasn’t sure, but there was no point in trying to move forward anymore. There was too much of a crush.

“Five!”

Her heart sank. If he couldn’t get to her, there would be no kiss at midnight. She should have ignored the phone call, should have stayed at home and enjoyed her evening alone with Sherlock and just stayed away from this party. If she had, then maybe her new year would have been off to a better start.

“Four!”

And suddenly he was there. He reached for her, pulled her close, his hands sliding to the small of her back. She smiled widely up at him as she wound her arms around his neck. “You made it to me,” she said, pressing her body close to him as the crush of people pushed them together.

“Three!”

“I told you I wanted my kiss at midnight,” he said, rubbing small circles on the small of her back. She knew it wasn’t quite midnight, but she wanted to kiss him, wanted to press her lips against his, wanted to savour the chance to melt against him and lose herself in his embrace and not care who was watching.

“Two!”

He pulled a hand from behind her back, tipping her chin up, running his thumb along her cheek. She smiled widely up at him. This moment was perfect, she realized. “Happy New Year, Sherlock,” she said, leaning in towards him.

“One!”

He leaned in more, his lips hovering above hers as they waited for the countdown to end. “Happy New Year, Molly,” he said quietly. And when the shouts rang out, when it was officially the new year, his pressed his lips against hers and pulled her as close against him as he could, kissing her as though his life depended on it, and she responded in kind. There was no better way to ring in the new year than this, she realized, kissing the man she loved most in the world like there was no tomorrow, knowing when they were done they would go home and wake up in each other’s arms and start the new year together. And maybe, if she was lucky, this might be the start of a new New Year’s tradition for them both.


End file.
